Jewish lobby and offensive realism

15 September 2024

13 1 minute read

The first article in this book called “The Mourning of Israel”, is written in 2009. The writer begins by noting the differences between Netanyahu and Obama over the settlements, and believes that Obama, like other former presidents of the United States, will fail in his efforts to stop the settlements.

In response to why Obama failed, John Mearsheimer writes:

“The main reason he could not stop Israel from colonizing the occupied territories is the Israeli lobby. The lobby is a powerful and special beneficiary group that drives the US government to build a “special relationship” with Israel. A special relationship means stability in Washington’s relationship with Israel, almost unconditional diplomatic support where it receives the highest level of foreign aid in comparison with other countries.”

Further, he rejects the arguments proposed by supporters of the need for a “special relationship” between the Zionist regime and the United States and believes that all the above reasons can be rejected. Citing various polls, he rejects empathy and consensus among the people of the Zionist regime and the United States as the first raised reason. Mearsheimer considers the second reason to be deceptive, including alignment of the interests of the Zionist regime and the United States; he then points out that in accordance with the basic principles of international relations, “Israel’s interests, like the interests of any other country, are not always in line with the interest of the United States.”